Back in 2016, it was the time when a number of lightweight versions of popular Google apps came into being. The idea was to make Google apps accessible to people that live in areas with low internet connectivity or own low-end devices. In 2022, one of those Google apps is now being retired. Google has revealed that it will soon shut down the YouTube Go app. Here’s why.
YouTube Go App Shutting Down
Google, via a blog post, has revealed that the YouTube Go app will cease to exist later this August. The tech giant recommends users switch to the main YouTube app or head to YouTube.com in order to continue using the video-streaming platform.
The company says that it launched YouTube Go in areas where the company couldn’t deliver the main app’s experiences. However, that has changed over the years.
The blog post states, “When we launched YouTube Go in 2016, it was designed for viewers in locations where connectivity, data prices, and low-end devices prevented us from delivering the best experience in the main YouTube app. Since then, YouTube has invested in improvements to the main YouTube app that make it perform better in these environments, while also delivering a better user experience which is inclusive of our entire community.“
It has also revealed that the YouTube experience on low-end smartphones or in areas with slower internet speeds has also improved. YouTube is also expected to get better user controls such as the ability to reduce mobile data usage for people with limited data. However, a release timeline isn’t known.
To justify this decision, Google emphasizes the fact that YouTube Go was devoid of various features of the main app such as the dark mode and the ability to comment, share, like, and more. Although, the Go version of the app had an interesting feature to locally share videos without the need for data, which the main YouTube app lacks.
While it seems fair to let go of its “lighter” Go app, considering the way YouTube has grown over the years, it remains to be seen if this is the same fate for the other Google Go apps like Maps, Gmail, Search, and more. What are your thoughts on this decision? Do you think it’s fine that the YouTube Go app is going away? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
